


Release

by Cre8tivesoul



Series: Eric Blackburn: An Officer & A Gentleman [1]
Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:21:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25325311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cre8tivesoul/pseuds/Cre8tivesoul
Summary: Set at the end of 3.13, "Fog of War", a brief glimpse into the home life of the team's commanding officer.
Series: Eric Blackburn: An Officer & A Gentleman [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1969213
Comments: 7
Kudos: 40





	Release

There was a light patter of rain against the bedroom window. The soft light from the bedside lamp reflected off the surface of the remnants of the cooled tea. The book Olivia had been reading slipped off her lap as she dozed off, landing softly on the rug below. 

As her slumber deepened, down below, he slipped his key in the deadbolt of the kitchen door, dropping his duffel bag down on the worn, green linoleum. With a deep sigh and a crack of his neck, he crossed over to the refrigerator but changed his mind. Moving quietly down the hallway to the living room, he opened the liquor cabinet and poured a healthy shot of whiskey before looking up the stairs on the other side of the room.

Olivia settled down into the covers, not hearing the creaking of the stairs over the sound of the rain that was now coming down harder than before. The unexpected storm was welcome, lulling her to a soft sleepy state. As he pushed the door open, he briefly lost his breath. Her deep scarlet hair fanned over her pillow as she clutched another. A small smile crossed his face, recognizing the green plaid shirt she had worn to bed. He slowly stripped as he walked towards the bed. He fought the bone deep exhaustion fighting it’s way to the surface. He just needed sleep. But he needed her more. He just needed to hold her. Nothing and no one ever eased his soul like she did.

Olivia felt the bed dip beside her at the same time she felt his beard on her cheek. Taking a sharp intake of breath as she felt herself being pulled to the surface from that place between awake and asleep, Olivia’s eyes shot wide open in surprise to see him hovering over her.

“Babe?” Even in the low light, she could see the weariness in his eyes. 

Without a word, he just kissed her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him, anchoring him before he could float away into oblivion. Her right hand cupped his cheek as she wrapped her left arm up and around his neck, savoring their first bit of contact in days. She didn’t even mind the whiskey on his breath. 

She smiled tenderly at him as she pulled back and broke the kiss. “God, I missed you,” she said quietly, as if speaking any louder would dismiss this as just a dream. But the smile quickly faded as she truly looked at him, seeing the exhaustion and sadness in his eyes. 

“Eric, what happened?” she asked worriedly. Blackburn stared back at her for a moment and sighed, rolling onto his back. Olivia propped herself up on her elbow and waited. 

Even though they had only been together for a few years, she had learned very early on that dating, and then subsequently living with, the commanding officer of a Tier One squad was a minefield all it’s own. She had quickly learned his tells and patiently waited as he worked himself to the point where he was ready to share. Or at least, share what he could. The longer he was silent, the more she knew whatever it was had been bad. Very bad. Eric Blackburn cared very deeply about the men under his command and considered them family. Olivia sent a prayer out that the first words out of his mouth weren’t “we lost…”. She had been there when Eric lost Adam Seaver and it nearly broke him. 

Finally, Eric took a deep breath and sat up. Following suit, Olivia also rose, gently putting her hand on his arm and resting her chin on his shoulder. With another deep breath, Eric began recounting what he could tell her about their mission in Caracas, how the op went sideways, their location was discovered, the loss of an “asset” who had put himself on the line to help them. But what really shook him was the fact that they had had to strip the new kid of his trident. That wasn’t something that was ever done lightly. Olivia knew that much and she slipped her hand in his to comfort him. While Eric danced around many of the details, Olivia could read deep enough between the lines to get the picture in her mind as to what was going through Eric’s head.

As Eric blew out a final, shaky breath, Olivia carded her hand through his hair and kissed his shoulder. Without thinking, just going on instinct, Olivia straddled Eric’s lap and laced her hands behind his head. “Tell me what you need,” she said, as she pressed her forehead against his.

Eric ran his hands up her exposed thighs, resting them on her hips. With his eyes closed, he whispered, “This. Just....this.” Olivia leaned down slightly to gently press her lips to his.

“I love you,” she whispered, running her hands down the side of his neck, over his shoulders and down his arms. “I’m right here.”

She opened her eyes just enough to see a tear slip down Eric’s cheek as the weight of the last few days and the hell his guys endured began to dissipate.

“I love you, too.” He kissed her again, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her neck, allowing himself this one moment of vulnerability and release.


End file.
